European strike: a list of (about) all demonstrations in Italy

A list of (about) all the demonstrations which took place in Italy for #14N - the 14 November set of strikes and general strikes across Europe.

Agrigento: demonstration outside the prefecture.

Alessandria: in the bankrupt city, the protest was led by public employees, demonstrating against cuts by the central government.

Ancona: approximately 1.000 people (students, workers, migrants) marched through the city. The movement part of the rally went to challenge the Bank of Italy in its local base and interrupted the CGIL speech. [url= www.globalproject.info/it/resources/38203]Photos[/url] Video

Andria: two rallies, carried out by 1.000 protesters, made their way through the city’s major streets. One was the CGIL rally, which ended with a speech; the other was the students’ rally. Video

Ascoli Piceno: picket called by CGIL.

Asti: three different demonstrations took place here: One organised by CGIL, another by CSIL and UILM, and a third by students. Photos

Avellino: around 1.000 students marched in the city centre and formed an assembly in a square. Photos

Bari: 10.000 students took part in the CGIL rally, crossing the city centre together before spliting up. One group marched to the harbour, where they tried to reach the embarkation point for Greece, to highlight their solidarity with the Greeks’ struggle. They were held off by police, and returned to town, where they formed an assembly. Photos

Belluno: workers and students protest in downtown Piazza Duomo.

Benevento: CGIL called for town hall meeting downtown, while hundreds of students marched through the major streets. CGIL were accused of clamming up into walls, without talking to regular civilians.

Bergamo: one CGIL rally and four spontaneous ones, with students and workers demonstrating and blocking the city. FIOM Bergamo workers protested outside Confindustria (the Italian employers’ association). At the end of the demonstration, the CGIL rally was reached by the movement rally, which tried to occupy the union stage. Video

Bologna: four different rallies marched through the city. One was guided by CGIL, a second by COBAS and high school students, another by highshool students collaborating with CGIL, and the last by university students. Some students went to protest outside the CISL local building. More info here. Photos Videos 1 and 2

Bolzano: CGIL and students’ demonstration.

Brescia: thousands of students, workers and anti-eviction activists crossed the city in a “wild” rally that involved eggs and paint being hurled at banks. The rally then tried to get into the train station to block the tracks, but the police violently intervened. After rough clashes, the protesters managed to occupy the station. The clashes then spilled into city roads. The protesters occupied the ex-Hotel Sirio, claiming the right to housing. Video

Brindisi: two rallies took place in Brindisi, one organised by CGIL, and another by COBAS and students, with thousands of participants. Ten schools are currently occupied. Photos

Cagliari: one rally called by CGIL and two called by students, teachers and COBAS. Video

Campobasso: school protest outside the prefecture.

Capua: around 2.000 students and autonomous militants marched to protest against austerity measures and against the severe environmental problems in their territory.

Caserta: 1.000 students marched to the city council to make their claims known to the local government. After some tense moments, they were finally granted access, but they left without any satisfactory answers. Meanwhile, CGIL was demonstrating in the central square of the city.

Catania: CGIL called for a picket outside the prefecture, while COBAS, students, movement activists and local associations marched in a rally through major streets. Photos

Como: approximately 500 workers and students picket outside the prefecture.

Cosenza: around 1.000 students and workers marched through town. Video

Crotone: CGIL demonstration.

Cuneo: CGIL demonstration.

Crema: picket and leafletting against austerity.

Cremona: picket and leafletting.

Enna: sit-in outside the prefecture.

Ferrara: CGIL demonstration in central square, with many worker representatives from the territory around the city, which was harshly hit by an earthquake last summer. Photos

Firenze: 30.000 workers from many Tuscan cities gathered here for a huge rally organised by CGIL. Those territories that were hit by a flood a few days ago were excused from striking. Around 3.000 people took part in the students’ and COBAS demonstration. They spread leaflets against Ikea. Video

Foggia: 1.000 students marched against austerity measures while workers with CGIL picketed outside the prefecture.

Forlì: picket outside the prefecture.

Genova: 4.000 students and COBAS blocked the “sopraelevata”, one of the most important roads for city traffic. Two workers rallies, one from the eastern part of the city and one from the western, met at Piazza De Ferraris, where CGIL leaders made a speech. PhotosVideo
Gioia Tauro: strike and demonstration organised by CGIL in one of the most important Southern Italian harbours.

Imperia: around 1.000 students and workers marched with CGIL and COBAS

La Spezia: picket called by CGIL with students and workers.

L’Aquila: different students’ demonstrations took place around town, even in the historic centre, which is still full of rubble following the 2009 earthquake.

Mestre: two rallies crossed town, one called by CGIL and students close to the union, the other by social centre Rivolta. Thousands took part in the two demonstrations. The movement rally occupied the train station and a bank office. Photos 1 and 2

Milan: three rallies crossed the city streets. One, called by students and social centres, clashed with the police in Corso Magenta and inside the Porta Garibaldi train station. The protesters also damaged banks and Enel shop windows. Video

Modena: two rallies, one held by CGIL and one by students and movements. In the second rally, there were also some committees formed in the territories hit by last summer’s earthquakes. Clashes with police outside the offices of the local education authority. Video

Monopoli: students protested against austerity measures.

Mormanno (Cosenza): CGIL solidarity demonstration following the earthquake that hit the town a few weeks ago.

Mottola: another student protest.

Napoli (Naples): over 5,000 people took part in two peaceful demonstrations which then joined together when students challenged theCGIL union over its weak political stance. 300 students blocked the main train station. Photos and Video

Novara: 300 students demonstrated in the morning. In the afternoon the CGIL demonstrated in front of the industrial union (associazione industriali). Photos

Padova (Padua): many students blocked the city, and when trying to block the train station they were charged by police.

Pisa: Sodexo workers started to demonstrate at 7 a.m. (Sodexo is a healthcare multinational which has recently fired 74 people. Workers have been picketing the firm for 18 days.) Other small demonstrations joined them. At 9 a.m. students who had blocked the train station moved toward the centre to join together. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was occupied as a symbolic action. Photo

Palermo: over 2,000 students demonstrated, joining with the UBS and COBAS unions, Libera (an association against Mafia) and immigrants. They demonstrated in front of the Presidency of the Regional Government building, as a challenge to the new president, Crocetta. They then blocked the main train station and the entrance of Serit (local branch of Equitalia).

Pescara: more than 10,000 workers took part in the CGIL strike.

Pomigliano: outside the FIAT car factory, FIOM’s general representative, Landinin, together with 5,000 other people, greeted 19 of the workers who were laid off by FIAT because of their union membership.

Ragusa: 1,000 people (mostly workers and some immigrants).

Reggio Emilia: CGIL and the police together prevented students and left-wing activists from entering the square where the meeting was taking place.

Rimini: symbolic actions took place in H&M (a clothes shop), the local market and around the city.

Rome: the students’ demonstration started at 9.45 a.m. in Piazzale Aldo Moro, and then joined up with demonstrating workers and the Cobas union. More than 15,000 people moved toward the Colosseum. The demonstration grew to 40,000 as it reached the Imperial Forums. A peaceful demonstration turned violent when clashes started on Lungotevere and San Sisto where demonstrators used a huge book block as shelter from police charges. Many students, very young and clearly harmless, were beaten and dragged away. In the afternoon, thousands of demonstrators were kettled in a cul de sac and hundreds of students were detained under provisional arrest, identified and frisked. During the day, the police continued to identify the demonstrators who threw stones and bottles. Eight arrests have been reported. Using the same slogans as their left-wing counterparts, Blocco Studentesco (the Casapound youth branch) demonstrated alone. Video

Savona: more than 2,000 demonstrators joined a CGIL demonstration.

Taranto: students picketed. A huge 14-day strike at the Ilva steelworks had just been lifted.

Terni: the day started with the general secretary of CGIL giving a speech in front of the Tk-Ast steelworks, a symbol of work uncertainty. There was an 8-hour strike.

Torino (Turin): two different demonstrations took place. 5,000 workers joined the CGIL demonstration, together with a huge red dragon, a symbol of “financial power”, and assembled in Piazza Castello, where FIOM members, FNAC and other workers expressed their anger. The local CGIL representative summarized the situation in Torino in 2012: 25,000 redundant workers, 12, 000 jobless. Meanwhile, over 10,000 students (mostly high school students) joined a demonstration which tried to block the San Paolo Skyscraper building site as a symbolic action. (San Paolo is a major bank in Turin, which owns large parts of Turin University’s estate and has started an aggressive student loan campaign. It’s building a 166-meter tall building as the headquarters of the banking group Intesa Sanpaolo.) There were clashes and the use of CS gas when the students got into the building site. Provincial administration was also touched by symbolic occupation when the NoTav flag was substituted for the EU one. At the end of the demonstration, autonomists and students began a new occupation, the new “verdi15”, while Gobetti high school was also occupied. Four people were taken into preventive detention and eight reported. Three police officers were injured together with countless demonstrators. Videos

Trieste: 1,200 students joined the protest. Workers of Sertubi Jindall occupied the HQ after a breakdown of negotiations to prevent 148 workers out of 200 being fired. Photo

Trento: While the CGIL strike took place in front of a government building, a separate demonstration by high school and university students together with the COBAS union marched through the town. As a sign of protest, eggs were thrown at a branch of Unicredit, the largest Italian bank. Photos

Venezia: demonstrations took place in Mestre.

Vercelli: there were CGIL pickets

Verona: hundreds of people marched in a rally through the city centre.

Attached files

About this blog

Struggles in Italy provides information in English, Spanish, and French on current struggles in Italy. It strives to give an international echo to Italian social movements, and to promote information and awareness in languages other than Italian. It aims to be as transparent as possible about our sources and we expect our readers to do the same.
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